Devendra Fadnavis's 'Rudali speech' jibe at Uddhav Thackeray after Mumbai rally

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday dismissed the Thackeray cousins' joint rally in Mumbai as a display of political grief rather than celebration, dubbing Uddhav Thackeray’s address a “rudali” speech.

“Without uttering a single word about Marathi, the speech revolved around how their government was toppled and how they want to return to power. This was not a Vijay Utsav but a 'rudali' darshan,” Fadnavis said, directly targeting Uddhav Thackeray without naming him.

The term "rudali" refers to women hired to mourn publicly at funerals in parts of Rajasthan, particularly in upper-caste families.

The remarks came hours after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, in a sarcastic jibe, credited Fadnavis for uniting the two estranged cousins—Raj and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray.

“I thank Raj Thackeray for giving me the credit for reuniting the brothers. Somewhere, I must have received the blessings of Balasaheb Thackeray. I was told it was supposed to be a ‘vijay’ (victory) rally, but it turned out to be a ‘rudali’ speech,” Fadnavis said.

The rally, held in Mumbai, was organised by the Thackeray cousins to celebrate the state government's rollback of two controversial government resolutions that had introduced Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state-run schools.

Fadnavis accused the Shiv Sena (UBT) of failing to bring any real development to Mumbai despite holding control over the civic body for 25 years.

“In contrast, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have transformed Mumbai. We gave Marathi people their rightful homes in BDD chawls, Abhyudaya Nagar, and Patra chawls. That is what makes them jealous,” he said.

He also addressed the Marathi identity issue raised during the rally, asserting, “Mumbai’s Marathi or non-Marathi population—everyone is with us. We are Marathi, and we are proud of it. We are Hindutvawadi, and we are proud to be Hindu.”

- Ends